


In the Rising Desert Sun

by graceling



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars), Movie: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, One Shot, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Romantic Potential, third times the charm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-14 04:52:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19266250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/graceling/pseuds/graceling
Summary: After a mysterious stranger returns with the Knights of Ren, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren abandons the First Order and flies to the only person who can help him defeat this terrible, old evil...





	In the Rising Desert Sun

**Author's Note:**

> Remember that image from Celebration of a maskless Kylo Ren? It wasn’t released officially, but was in a kind of teaser before the EPIX panel? Yeah, that one. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, please google it!) Anyway, I can’t get that image out of my head. Hence the scene below…  
> FYI I have no inside or special knowledge of The Rise of Skywalker, nor do I think the scene will play out this way. (Though I maybe wish it would.) These characters are not mine, but are property of Lucasfilm.

This time, he’s going to her.

                The last time Kylo saw Rey—really saw her, not just in a one-second burst through their bond—she came to him. He shifts in the seat of his Silencer, remembering yet again what it felt like to have her fighting at his back. It was powerful, intoxicating. Her blue-gray aura mingled with his seeping crimson one, making him feel almost… even. The moment she threw her lightsaber at him, relinquished it willingly to save him, he knew he wanted her with him. Needed her with him, always. He’d told her they could rule together—he saw it in their future. Dual thrones, neither set above the other. They’d sit side-by-side and bring a new order to the galaxy.

                But she wouldn’t let go of the resistance, of her friends, of his mother. His feelings twisted into a fury and tears streaked down her face. His anger stretched even more when he realized she was crying because of him. Angling into a full-tilt storm, his fury threatened to blow through the walls around them. And then, nothing. When he woke, she’d returned to the dying resistance and he was left with one throne.

                He’d barely slept since. If he did fall into dreams, all he saw was her. But the dreams weren’t of the fight—of her unrefined jabs or his powerful thrusts—nor of that moment she called his name. No, the nightmares always end one of two ways—her watching as the last guard choked the life out of him or her sliding her saber into his gut herself. 

                He growls and tightens his grip on the controls as his fighter bleeds out of hyperspace. A burnt orange planet fills his view. He takes a second to appreciate its dirty brightness, then pushes the throttle to burn toward it. He can’t give them time to launch fighters, if they even have any.

                The silencer cleaves into the atmosphere, honing toward the reborn resistance. He shouldn’t know where they are, but the last burst through their bond was an image of Rey against a desert landscape. The scenery awakened a memory deep inside him, and after scouring a map of the galaxy, he knew she was on Pasaana. He said nothing to Hux or Pryde or anyone, instead keeping it to himself while he decided what to do with that information. But before he could decide, his Knights returned.

                It was immediately clear they were no longer his. Kylo Ren was no longer their leader, even though he was Supreme Leader. The Knights hadn’t returned from the unknown regions with the answers he’d demanded, but instead with a man in their midst. Kylo could sense his strength right away—the force within him so red it was black. It took many weeks and one long conversation, during which Kylo felt off-kilter, to realize he was in danger from this strange acolyte.

                Kylo sets down his fighter away from the base, then starts his trek toward it. If he came in too close, they’d shoot before he could explain. And it’s an explanation they’ll want—why he’s there and how he found them. But his connection with Rey isn’t something he plans on sharing. Just as he thinks of her, she appears through the bond. She’s looking at a holochart with the pilot. A wave of cold hits Kylo in the chest, then Rey looks through the transparent chart and into his eyes. She can see the desert behind him, and recognizes it.

                Rey sprints from view, and for a moment, Kylo’s left alone with the rocks and sand. Then she’s running toward him through the dry morning. She runs without stopping all the way into his arms. “Ben,” she whispers into his chest. “You came.”

                That image cracks and breaks and falls away. Rey’s not in his arms, but stands meters away, lightsaber raised defensively. Her race through the compound has brought others with her. The pilot and the traitor are close behind. The former doesn’t bother with his blaster—he remembers what happened the last time they met on a desert planet. Kylo recognizes his mother’s gold spy droid further away, but none of the faces are his mother or his father’s best friend.

                “What are you doing here?” Rey growls. He wasn’t expecting a warm welcome, but he wasn’t expecting an audience either. When he imagined coming to her, he imagined only her. And after he knew it was Pasaana, he imagined just the two of them in the desert. She’d understand, maybe even be empathetic. But all he sees in the glares aimed at him is distrust and fear.

                “I need your help,” he says.

                “The resistance won’t help you!” Someone shouts from nearby the traitor. Kylo refuses to look away from Rey. He doesn’t need to close his eyes to see the pure blue of her force nature. Any strands of gray are gone.

                “Rey,” he specifies. “I need your help.”

                She not surprised he’s talking only to her. “How did you find us?”

                “I came alone. No one followed me.” It doesn’t answer her question, but he’ll tell her the truth later, if they’re ever alone. What’s important is that the First Order and the Knights don’t know where he’s gone. He made sure to cover his tracks.

                “Why?” She’s still skeptical, but the hand holding her lightsaber falls to her side.

                “The most powerful Sith there ever was lives. Vader didn’t kill him as he thought.” As everyone thought. “Only you and I can defeat him.” Maybe they can’t even do that. Kylo reached into the newest Knight’s darkness, but he never felt its end. The well was vast and swirling with unbridled power.

                “Sidious?”

                “You know his name?” But then he realizes. “Skywalker,” he says softly.

                “Sidious lives?” Rey asks, and the morsel of fear in her question shimmers through the resistance behind her. She isn’t their leader—he can tell it’s the pilot—but they still look to her. She is the last Jedi, after all.

                Kylo nods. “He rose from the depths of the second fallen Death Star. If we don’t act now, he’ll rule the galaxy for ages to come.” He’ll be unstoppable, undefeatable and he’ll control generations long after Rey and Kylo are stardust. “He returned with the Knights of Ren—” At their mention, another mumble travels through the crowd of resistors. “—and is now in the midst of the First Order. I stayed long enough to discover how he came to be and how we can defeat him.

                “Rey,” he’s desperate now. “Will you join me? We can defeat him together and save the galaxy.” He sees her hesitation. His request is too similar to that in the throne room, but he can’t take it back. He can’t take any of it back. “Please,” he whispers. It’s been a year, but they fought Snoke’s guards side-by-side. They can defeat Sidious too, but only if they work together.

                Rey shifts from one foot to the other. “Together?” She asks. She’s not asking if they’ll fight side-by-side, but if they’ll decide the future of the galaxy together. She’s making sure he won’t take it all for himself, once Sidious is gone. If they can defeat him. But, no, they can. They must.

                The last Jedi and the last Skywalker are the galaxy’s only hope.

                “Together,” he confirms. She nods, and the hope in her eyes is brighter than the rising sun.


End file.
